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Like Adam, I'm born and bred Australian; my skin is brown, and I am subject to racism all the time.
"Just joking – can't you take a joke?"
I'm here to tell you: you're not funny.
Racist jokes are crass. Vulgar. Hurtful. With your joke, you judge me before you even know me. You make me less than equal, less than human. You affect my employment chances, my promotion options. You affect how shopkeepers and security guards treat me. You humiliate me in front of colleagues, friends, family, strangers.
You're willing to get a laugh from people at my expense. Your joke is dangerous and I'm not going to pretend this is acceptable any more.
"Harden up, it's just words; get over it."
I've spent my life hardening up so you can have a soft time making easy jokes and engaging in comfortable, casual bigotry.
But I've got over a great deal this week, including the hurdles of politeness that made me hold my tongue to keep the peace, excused your ignorance so as not to offend you, cried in the toilet rather than stick up for myself.
I've had so much practice at being hard, I'm now prepared to reciprocate with some hard words of my own.
Here they are: you are racist.
I appreciate I might need to explain to you exactly what's hurtful about your joke. You need empathy to understand another person's hurt – that's a good starting place, so let's begin.
Think about someone you hold dear and remember the last time you felt hurt on their behalf.
Was that dear person a child bullied at school? Bullying is terrible. Though it happens all the time, it's never justified, and can destroy a child's early years, ruin their trust, mar their education.
What did you do? Speak with the school principal? Take it to the school council? Move the child to another school? I trust you did something for them, because bullying is serious.
I hope you didn't tell the child it was just a joke, and to harden up.
Maybe someone was cruel to a special person in your life: laughed at their weight, joked about their relationship, ostracised them behind a wall of whispers and giggles or rumours and lies because of some slight or faux pas.
What did you do? Take that special person for a coffee and lend them a friendly ear, or take them into your arms to comfort them? I trust you did something for your special person, because ostracism can have real effects on physical and mental health. I hope you didn't tell your special person it was just a joke, and to harden up.
Continued here